Swivelling toothbrush

ABSTRACT

The invention provides a swivelling tooth brush device, permitting the positioning of the brush either before or during use, whilst ensuring pivoting of a carrying shaft on smooth bearings with the aid of contiguous cheeks protecting an axial notched component against any dirt or external effects, comprising a shaft carrying a brush fitted with a fixing sector and with two contiguous centering cheeks on smooth bearings and with a pinion notched with teeth restricted to selected positions and varying according to normal procedure.

United States Patent [1 1 Paoletti June 3, 1975 SWIVELLING TOOTHBRUSH [76] Inventor: Xavier Paoletti, Le Pigonnet, Rue

Roumanille, Aixen Provence, France [22] Filed: Jan. 8, 1973 [2]] Appl. No.: 322,004

[52] U.S. Cl 15/172; 15/167 [51] Int. Cl A46b 9/10 [58] Field of Search 15/172, 167, 144; 81/573,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,579,941 5/1974 Jenkins 15/245 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,075,819 4/1954 France 15/172 14,116 8/1900 United Kingdom 15/172 Primary Extzminer-Peter Feldman Attorney, Agent, or FirmWilliam Anthony Drucker ABSTRACT The invention provides a swivelling tooth brush device, permitting the positioning of the brush either before or during use, whilst ensuring pivoting of a carrying'shaft on smooth bearings with the aid of contiguous cheeks protecting an axial notched component against any dirt or external effects, comprising a shaft carrying a brush fitted with a fixing sector and with two contiguous centering cheeks on smooth bearings and with a pinion notched with teeth restricted to selected positions and varying according to normal procedure.

2 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures 1 SWIVELLING TOOTHBRUSH The present invention relates to a swivelling toothbrush device.

Experience has shown that notching of the flange of the integral shaft of the brush enables the latter to be locked in the desired position, but that insertion and extraction, as with insertion of the assembly. gave rise to difficulties due to jamming, stiffness, centering faults and other causes such as to penetration of foreign bodies causing clogging of the clearances.

The device according to the invention overcomes these disadvantages and allows immediate adjustment of the direction of the brush on the spot, that is to say, in the mouth, and facilitates insertion and removal by automatic centering, and protects the notching system against the introduction of foreign bodies, whether liquid, pasty or solid.

It consists of a shaft carrying the brush and comprising, between two centering and positioning cheeks, a notched disc to receive the locking shaft and to hold the brush in the desired position.

In the accompanying drawings, which are provided as a non-restrictive example of one of the forms which the subject of the invention may take:

FIGS. 1, 2 show respectively a longitudinal and a transverse section of the device for swivelling and locking the brush;

FIG. 3 shows in section the push-button controlling the locking shaft;

FIGS. 4 and 5 show in elevation the various positions of the brush and FIG. 6 shows a modification.

The head of the brush 1 forms a smooth cylindrical bearing at its circular openings 2, 3.

A handle shaft 4 is channelled axially at 5 to allow movement of a locking shaft 6.

A boss 7 can rest on a shoulder 8, forming a stop at the end of its travel. The base of the shaft, with a wider section 9, slides in an enlarged bore, of the same diameter, as a result of pressure on a control 10, and the action of an opposing spring 11.

This assembly makes it possible to utilise the basic modification of a shaft 12, which is integral with a brush 13. This shaft, with a fixing sector 12', has two cheeks 14, 15 of the same diameter as the bearings 2, 3 with which they connect in sealing manner, and in which they pivot. A notched component 16 is interposed between these two bearings, with a number of teeth corresponding to the variable positions of the brush.

A shaped extremity 17 of the shaft 6 enters the notched component 16 when pressure on the control 10, in the direction of arrow B, ceases. The spring then forces the shaft in the direction of arrow A, thereby locking the shaft 12 in one of the notches 16.

It is pointed out that the notches 16 are not in contact with any wall of a bearing and serve no other purpose than to lock the brush in the position selected after adjustment either by hand or during brushing of the teeth. The brushes take up the positions l7, l8, l9 and can rotate through 360 to the required angle.

However, in shapes, dimensions and arrangements of the various components may vary within equivalent limits, as can the materials used for their manufacture, without thereby modifying the overall concept of the invention which has been described.

I claim:

1. A swivel tooth brush comprising:

an elongated handle provided with a transverse bore forming a smooth bearing surface adjacent one end and a longitudinal bore terminating in said transverse bore,

shaft means within the bearing including a pair of axially spaced readially enlarged shaft portions and an intermediate gear-like member of smaller diameter than the shaft portions, said shaft portion being closely fitted to the smooth bearing to protect the member against dirt or external effects,

a spring biased locking-pin within the longitudinal bore having a wedge-shaped end normally located between a pair of teeth on the gear-like member for locking said shaft means in selected positions,

and a brush mounted on one end of the shaft means extending from the transverse bore, said brush being oblique relative to the axis of said shaft means.

2. A swivel tooth brush according to claim 1 including means extending from within the handle to a location external thereto for manually moving said locking pin against its bias to permit rotation of the shaft means. 

1. A swivel tooth brush comprising: an elongated handle provided with a transverse bore forming a smooth bearing surface adjacent one end and a longitudinal bore terminating in said transverse bore, shaft means within the bearing including a pair of axially spaced readially enlarged shaft portions and an intermediate gear-like member of smaller diameter than the shaft portions, said shaft portion being closely fitted to the smooth bearing to protect the member against dirt or external effects, a spring biased locking-pin within the longitudinal bore having a wedge-shaped end normally located between a pair of teeth on the gear-like member for locking said shaft means in selected positions, and a brush mounted on one end of the shaft means extending from the transverse bore, said brush being oblique relative to the axis of said shaft means.
 1. A swivel tooth brush comprising: an elongated handle provided with a transverse bore forming a smooth bearing surface adjacent one end and a longitudinal bore terminating in said transverse bore, shaft means within the bearing including a pair of axially spaced readially enlarged shaft portions and an intermediate gear-like member of smaller diameter than the shaft portions, said shaft portion being closely fitted to the smooth bearing to protect the member against dirt or external effects, a spring biased locking-pin within the longitudinal bore having a wedge-shaped end normally located between a pair of teeth on the gear-like member for locking said shaft means in selected positions, and a brush mounted on one end of the shaft means extending from the transverse bore, said brush being oblique relative to the axis of said shaft means. 